Don't Let Go
by Zepza
Summary: Ten years ago somebody broke into the chancellor and her husbands home and kidnapped their daughter, they have been searching for their missing child ever since. Today Special Agent Alexandria Woods was assigned her first major undercover role, along with Special Agent Anya Pine she will discover the deepest darkest secrets of Polis, in the slave trade headquarters.
1. Darkest Day of our Lives

_**October 16th 2006 around 11pm**_

 _Story of my life_

 _Searching for the right_

 _But it keeps avoiding me_

 _Sorrow in my soul_

 _'Cause it seems that wrong_

 _Really loves my company_

 _Twelve year old Clarke is standing in their living room singing Unfaithful by Rihanna, it's karaoke night and Clarke is currently the one singing. Her parents are sitting on the couch smiling widely. Clarke was a good singer, not just good, she was great. Her parents just couldn't stop smiling. Of course Jake is currently videotaping her performance, karaoke night is always filmed, they already have a tape with him singing Crazy by Gnarls Barkley, he couldn't sing, at all, but they had fun and karaoke night was all about having fun,_

 _I don't wanna do this anymore_

 _I don't wanna be the reason why_

 _Every time I walk out the door_

 _I see him die a little more inside_

 _I don't wanna hurt him anymore_

 _I don't wanna take away his life_

 _I don't wanna be_

 _A murderer_

 _She finished the song to what could only be described as thunderous applause by her parents, especially Jake, he's clapping his hands even though he's still holding the camera and it's still filming._

 _"That was amazing Clarke, you are so good at this, your old papa's feeling very untalented compared to you" He laughs, the camera now safely turned off and placed on the table in front of the couch. "So tell me kiddo, are you going to be an artist or are you going to be a singer? "_

 _"I'm going to be both dad! Why just be one thing when you can do both." The young blonde smiles and jumps in between her parents on the couch. Abby puts her arm around her daughters shoulder. "Not that it's not sad to end this lovely evening sweetheart but it's way past your bedtime." Clarke sighs but stands up giving her father a hug and a kiss on the cheek "Goodnight dad." She says before giving her mother a hug and a kiss as well "Goodnight mom!"_

 _Clarke walks upstairs and gets ready for bed. Brushing her teeth and changing into her turquoise pyjamas with black stars on. She yawns and jumps into bed, falling asleep almost immediately._

 _Abby and Jake are still sitting on the couch in their living room, the TV is turned off and the only sound is the soft music coming from the radio on the kitchen counter that Abby turned on when Clarke walked upstairs. Neither is saying anything but Jake can tell that his wife is in deep thought. He turns to his wife and says "So my dear chancellor, what's got you thinking so loudly?" Abby sighs and moves to sit closer to her husband, laying her head on his shoulder, Jakes arm goes over Abbys shoulder instinctively. "I'm just thinking about how big she's gotten, I mean it feels like just yesterday she was crawling around, with her blue eyes, blonde hair and chubby cheeks. She was always smiling when she was a kid, she still does. Can you believe that she's already twelve years old?" Jake kisses Abbys forehead. "Well it's like they say, time flies. We'll just have to appreciate the times we've had and they times that have yet to come."_

* * *

 _ **October 17th 2006 after 1 am**_

Clarke wakes because of a creaking noise, she's always been a light sleeper. "Dad? Mom?" But she gets no answer, a weird tingling creeps between her shoulder blades up to her neck. The hairs on her neck rise when she hears the noise again. Confused about the noise she walks out of her room and looks around, but there's nothing special, it's pitch black outside, it must still be late. "Dad?" still no answer, a shiver rushes through her body, leaving her slightly scared, something doesn't feel right.

The blonde starts taking quick hurried steps towards her parents' bedroom when she hears the creaking noise again, but this time it comes from behind. Before she is able to react, something has grabbed her from behind, a cloth is cowering her mouth and nose, her eyes are open and she has a deer in the headlights look on her face. Clarke lets out a startled shriek but it's muffled by the cloth and the drugs on the cloth is now making her feel dizzy. She can no longer hold back the darkness and she falls unconscious.

* * *

Abby is startled awake. She tries to rub the sleep out of her eyes. She thinks she heard something but, she must be imagining things, so she lays back down and tries to fall back asleep. After a few minutes she gives up, she can't shake the feeling that something isn't quite right. So she gets out of bed and walks out of her and Jakes room. Jake is still fast asleep. Outside their bedroom door the strange feeling gets stronger and a shiver runs through her spine. Abby continues down the hall towards her daughters bedroom, when she gets there she notices that the door is slightly open, Clarke never sleeps with the door open, not since Wells showed her that scary movie when she was 11. She takes a deep breath and opens the door fully, walking into her daughters room. Like if someone poured a bucket of cold water over her head a numb feeling once again runs through Abbys body, starting from her toes to and ending on her fingertips. Clarke is not there. The bed has clearly been used, the sheets are wrinkled. Something is not right.

"Clarke?" She softly asks out loud, hoping for an answer that never comes. Abby walks out of Clarkes bedroom and to the bathroom, maybe she just needed to go during the night. She knocks on the bathroom door "Clarke?", but instead of an answer she receives silence. Opening the door she notices that Clarke is not in the bathroom either. Abby is now getting anxious, this is not like Clarke. She swallows her anxiousness and takes a deep breath, walks out the bathroom and down the stairs into the living room. Still no sign of her daughter. She checks the kitchen and the bathroom next to the laundry room, still no Clarke. "Clarke" "CLARKE" Abby starts running around the house, now calling out full blown screams for her daughter, praying for an answer she knows she will not receive. "PLEASE CLARKE WHERE ARE YOU?!" "CLARKE PLEASE!". She's running around their house looking into every room, through every door. She even looks into the closet where Clarke used to hide as a child when they played hide and seek.

Hearing Abbys desperate screams Jake jolts awake, and is up and running down the stairs where his desperate wife is currently pacing quickly, looking through every little space their daughter possibly could hide. "Abby what is going on?" Jake worriedly asks his wife. "I can't find Clarke, I've looked through the entire house at least five times and I can't find her. Where is my baby?" Abby can't hold back anymore, and she sinks to her knees letting out desperate wails while her cheeks gets drenched by her river of tears.

Jake could feel his heart stop, Clarke is gone, Clarke is gone, Clarke is not here, Clarke is gone, where is Clarke. He runs his hands through his hair and runs back to their bedroom and gets his phone. While walking downstairs to where his wife is on the floor crying, he calls the police.

"911 what's your emergency?"

"My... My daug... I can't find my daughter." Jake manages to get out, his own tears filling with tears. "She's gone, I don... She disappeared."

"Okay sir, I will send a patrol to your location, just stay put." Jake is now sitting next to his wife, holding on to her and she holds on to him. Whispering into her ear. "She'll come back to us Abby, I swear it on my life, we'll get our baby back, I swear it."


	2. Never Forget

**September 16th 2016**

A knock on the door startled Lexa out of her daydreaming. Her mind had been going in all sorts of directions the last few weeks ever since she found out about her new assignment. She's used to undercover roles, she loves the thrill of becoming someone else for the sake of justice. But this particular assignment has refused to leave her mind ever since she was informed about it, and her role in it. The role was extremely important, not that all her other jobs where less important to her, but in this one she would be the main lead, the most crucial points to this operations was to lean on her shoulders.

"Special Agent Woods, Special Agent Pine. Chief Kane wants to see you in his office about your new assignment."

"Alright, thank you Maya. We'll be right there" Answered Anya with a small nod while she closed her laptop. Anya walked over to Lexa and gave her a pat on the back.

"So Lexa, on a scale of 1 to 10 how nervous are you about this assignment"

"I'm don't get nervous Ahn." Lexa said while she scratched the back of her head.

"Pfft... Please, what... The big bad commander can't get nervous? Then explain to me why you've been so on edge for five weeks?"

"Alright, alright I'm like a twenty... thousand on the nervous scale okay? I just... I've never had a job quite as important as this, I mean it's huge. We've been waiting years to bust these assholes and now we've got a solid chance, no matter how small it might be, to catch them. And the outcome is almost entirely based on my actions. If I fuck up..."

"You won't fuck up okay, Woods. There's a reason why you where the one they chose for this role alright. I mean look at your track record. You've got a solve rate of something like 89%. Do you know how good that is? You've got this, and don't forget I'll be close by with backup. Now come on let's not keep the boss waiting." With a final pat on the back they rose from their seats and began the small but tense journey towards Chief Kane's office.

"Since it's only three days left till the day of the auction we're finalizing all of the case details. I'm sure both of you knows the importance of this undercover operation." He paused slightly in his speech to receive confirmation from both agents in the room, which he received with a nod from both of them. "I'm just going to do a quick rundown of what's going to be happening. Ms Woods, aka Ms Jolene Thompson will arrive at the auction at 2200 hrs. You'll go straight to your booth which is going to be in the middle, booth 8. Each one of these booths are like rooms. You can close and lock the door from the inside, which is what you'll be doing. We want to be able to talk to you through your earpiece while in the room. Then you'll take your seat next to the window. There's 35 girls that'll be auctioned off tonight. You'll bid on the last one called Princess. She's the most expensive one of them all. You have an unlimited supply of money. After you've won, the auctioneers will collect you from your booth and take you to meet your new possession. You'll get 5 minutes alone with her in a room. When you're in the room you'll call for backup." He once again stopped talking and waited for confirmation from both of the agents in front of him, and once again he received a nod from them both. "This might be our only chance in many years to catch and destroy the slave traders in Polis, good luck agents, you're dismissed."

"Yes, Sir."

"Yes, Sir"

With that both SA Woods and SA Pine stood up from their seats and proceeded to walk out Chief Kane's office. Once back in their office Lexa let out a loud sigh.

"Did he really have to say that last thing, It's not like I wasn't already nervous. Well consider my level of nervousness two hundred thousand."

"Calm down Woods, you'll do fine. Now I didn't have time to eat breakfast this morning so I'm really fucking hungry so lets go get some lunch."

* * *

"Nothing get's me going like a good 'ol cheeseburger with fries at Grounders." The look on Anya's face is full of happiness.

"Well we all know you think with your stomach, but I'll have to agree this is fantastic" Lexa said as she took another bite from her slightly oversized cheeseburger.

The young brunette was about to start talking again when something on the TV catched her eye. The news are on in the diner and at the moment they are talking about the chancellors daughter who disappeared almost ten years ago.

"In a month it will be the ten year anniversary of Clarke Griffins disappearance" The news anchor said with a solemn voice, it had a slight empathetic tone to it.  
The female news anchor continued to talk about the mysterious details surrounding the whole disappearance of the chancellor's daughter. The fact that she was just gone, no trace what so ever. The picture situated on a television screen behind the news anchor had a picture of twelve year old Clarke on it and next to that picture were another picture that showed the possible future looks of Clarke, what she could've looked like as a 22 year old. Lexa couldn't help but see what a beautiful girl she could've grown up to be. It was ten years ago now, and the chance of finding her was slim, the chance of finding her alive was even smaller, practically nonexistent.

"That's just tragic" Anya's voice shook Lexa out of her thoughts, her voice was tinged with sadness. Which was quite uncommon for the agent.

"I can't believe that they've searched for 10 years now, I still remember the day she disappeared. God it was all over the news for weeks. I would've given up by now I think, I mean how big is the chance of finding her after 10 years?"

"She was their only child, most probably the light of their lives. I don't think I would ever stop either and I think they know the chances of finding her. They might have given up on finding her alive, but they want answers, why did their little girl just vanish into thin air?" Lexa said while still looking at the TV.

"Yeah maybe you're right Woods. I just hope that they can find some closure."

"So do I."

* * *

"Alright as Chief Kane said a few hours earlier the auction starts at 22.30, you'll be there at 22.00. 35 girls, Princess is number 35. The last one out. Blonde, blue eyed and apparently extremely beautiful. She's out last because she's the most expensive of them all and she's the one all of these perverts want. Now this whole operation is dependent on that you win the auction, as you already know. According to our inside guy all of these girls are going to be drugged to make sure they don't resist, and they're going to be wearing almost nothing. A fancy bra and a pair of fancy underwear with a fancy pair of heels. The ages of the girls range between 16 to 22 years old. Actually our princess is the oldest of them all, at 22 years of age."

"Jesus, I just can't believe what they are putting these girls through."

"Yeah, well that's just the shitty reality we live in. There's just so many shitty people in this world, and our job is to make sure that we put as many as possible of those shitheads in jail, or the morgue, but go for jail, less paperwork." Anya finished with a small but sad chuckle.

"Lexa, I need you to listen very closely now alright?" Anya rolled her office chair over to Lexa and sat in front of her, looking straight into her eyes with a serious look on her face. When Lexa gave her a nod she continued.

"I know that you've done a whole lot of undercover work and other stuff before, and you've been extraordinary at it. But this job is different. Because this is going to hit so close to your heart. When you're in that room waiting for the last one you're going to be witnessing all of these young girls being sold off as slaves. You're going to feel like shit, like you're in the furthest and deepest part of hell, and when I think of it, you might as well be. But I need you to remember that you're undercover. you can't just jump in and save the day like you're batman or something. You need to keep your cover and use those amazing acting skills I've seen so many times, seriously you could've won an oscar with those skills." That last line earned her a small chuckle from Lexa

"You're an amazing agent, and you're going to give all of these girls the justice they deserve." Lexa stood up when Anya did and grasped the arm that was stretched out towards her, she grabbing Anya's forearm in a tight grip.

"Blood must have blood."

"Blood must have blood." Repeated Lexa

"Alright Special Agent Alexandria Woods, let's get to work."


	3. The Devil's Lair

"Good evening Miss Thompson, follow me please."

Lexa stepped out of the car and is escorted by two men in suits into the building. On the outside the building looks old and worn down, but the moment the brunette steps inside the doors, she is met by the epitome of wealth, there are marble statues among a corridor, the tiles on the floor are made up of natural stone, and the wooden walls are painted white. The walls are filled with various paintings, Lexa has no idea who painted them. But they sure looked expensive. She continued to follow the two men in suits down a small staircase where there was yet another corridor, which was similar looking to the first one. Eventually they walked into a third corridor, this corridor was different. It was not straight as usual corridors, but it was bent. Like a running track around a football field. There were doors, and each door had a number on it. The first one had the number 1 on it, the second had number 2 and so on. They kept walking until they got to door number 8.

"This is your booth Miss, have a pleasant evening."

"Thank you."

One of the men that escorted her opened the door for her and she walked into the dimly lit booth and locked the door. In the middle there was a big chair, with soft cushions. Next to it was a bottle of champagne and a glass. At the end of the armrest, a green button was placed. This button was pressed when you wanted to place a bet. Each girl would have different starting bids and different gaps between bids. Lexa knew that Princess would have a 50 000 dollar gap between bids. Glass surrounded the booth on all sides except behind her. She could see the outlines of the other booths, the glass was only see through on her side, meaning she couldn't see the other bidders. The stage in front of her was shaped like a circle with a small dimly lit walkway, the actual circle in the middle was well lit. Next to the stage was a small drop, maybe 3ft deep. The brunette sat down in her chair and poured a small amount of champagne into the glass and took a deep breath. It's time.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to Mount Weather." The voice was clearly male, but his voice was tampered with, which made it sound like he had inhaled Sulfur Hexafluoride.

Two men entered the stage and walked down into the moat of the stage. They wore masks that covered their faces. The masks themselves where black and looked somewhat skintight. There was a small handgun strapped to their hips. The guards were most likely there to make sure that none of the girls fell, or to help them up if they did. The likeliness that they would try to escape in such a heavily guarded place while drugged was highly unlikely.

"First up we have Zavannah, 17 years old, born in Dallas. Bidding starts at 150 000 dollars." The girl in question had dark brown hair and equally brown eyes.  
She was around 5'6 tall, she wore heels that were 4-5 inches tall and in her drugged state she stumbled slightly. Barely able to keep herself off the ground. Her skin looked sickly pale and she was wearing a black bra and a pair of black underwear. Lexa could clearly see the girls ribs. In the backround Lexa heard the narrator say the current bids out loud. They were currently on 180 000 dollars.

"Bidding ends in 5...4...3...2...1... Sold to number 26 for 190 000 dollars" The first girl had been sold, the uneasy feeling in Lexa's stomach grew. This is so wrong.

Next girl up was a dark skinned girl named Chess, she was 16 years old and born in Miami. She wore the same clothes as Zavannah, including the 4 inch heels, she seemed even thinner than the previous girl, her straight black her reaching just below her shoulder blades. She was sold for 210 000 dollars. Third up, was 19 year old Brooke from New York. Her dark blonde hair reminded Lexa of Anya. Chess' dark brown eyes remained glued on the floor as she was sold for 180 000 dollars. Each girl was on the stage for 5 minutes. The potential buyers had to have time to decide whether they wanted them or not.

Cheetah final bid 240 000 dollars.

Rose final bid 300 000 dollars.

Svetlana final bid 250 000 dollars.

Yna final bid 200 000 dollars.

Olivia final bid 260 000 dollars.

Quentina final bid 310 000 dollars.

The list went on, every girl was sold for at least 170 000 dollars. The youngest seemed to attract the most money. Some went up to over 400 000 dollars. None of the girls were sold with their birth names.

"As usual we have saved the best for last." Lexa could her her own heart pounding, a shiver ran up her spine and all her senses where tingling. It's showtime.

"Last but certainly not least... Princess!" A young blonde stumbled out on the stage.

"22 years old with famous bloodlines. She has several special skills like singing and painting. Guaranteed virgin. Bidding starts at 250 000 dollars."

As soon as the blonde had stumbled onto the stage, Lexa was struck by her pure beauty. Her blonde curls as golden as the sun, and her blue eyes as vibrant as the sea. She had golden flecks around the edges of her iris. She couldn't shake the feeling of familiarity when she looked upon the woman. She seemed to be a bit more well fed than the others, however Lexa could still easily count all of her ribs. The blonde lifted her head up and looked towards Lexa's booth. Even though you could only see through the glass on Lexa's side, it still felt like the blonde was staring right into her eyes. But as Lexa's own eyes locked with the blonde's she could't help but feel devastated. Her eyes might have been beautifully colored but they where so hollow. It looked like someone had slowly drained her of her will to live. It seemed nonexistent. The Princess looked like a dead man walking.

"Woods for fuck sake what the fuck are you doing?! Bid God damnit we cannot loose her!" A voice screamed into her ear.

Lexa was roughly pulled from her thoughts back into the harsh reality.

"350 000 number 5."

"400 000 number 12"

Lexa pressed the button on her armrest, her heart was wildy beating in her chest.

"450 000 number 8"

"500 000 number 5"

"550 000 number 8"

It didn't seem like number 5 wanted to let go of her princess.

"600 000 number 5"

"650 000 number 8"

"Bidding ends in 5...4...3...2...1… Sold to number 8 for 650 000 dollars.

"Jesus Christ" Lexa muttered to herself, she had just bought a girl for 650 000 dollars. This was insane.

"Thank fuck Woods, you scared me and the team half to death." Anya's voice is heard through Lexa's earpiece.

"Sorry. It's just... There's just something about that girl. She feels so familiar, like I've seen her before."

"That is highly unlikely Woods. Now get your acting together because they'll be at your door in 32 seconds. You remember the plan?"

"Yes ma'am, I do."

"Good, see at the end of the rainbow kid."

Exactly 25 seconds after had Anya said her typical goodbye a knock on the door was heard. Lexa rose from her seat and unlocked the door. Outside stood three men, two of them wearing the same outfit as the ones who where next to the stage. The third man, who was standing in between the other two, was clothed in an expensive suit. He was around her own age with somewhat long brown hair that was combed back with way to much hair gel.

"Good evening Miss Thompson and congratulations on your fine purchase. My name is Finn Collins and I'll be escorting you to your purchase tonight. If you have any questions feel free to ask."

"Thank you Mr Collins."

"This way miss"

Lexa followed Collins through a corridor that was full of doors on each side. Every door had a number on it and the number rose the further down the corridor you where. When they arrived at the end of the corridor they stopped. The door in front of her had the number 35 on it.

"This is where your purchase is located. You will now be allowed five minutes alone with her to do as you please. When the five minutes are up I will come back and collect the payment"

"Thank you Mr Collins."

"Before you go in I must warn you, she can be a bit feisty, but she is quite heavily sedated at the moment so she should not give you too much trouble."

"I will keep that in mind, thank you again Mr Collins."

With a small bow Collins walked away and Lexa opened the door in front of her and closed it behind her without turning around. The blonde princess stood in the middle of the room. Her shoulders were sagged and she was looking down at the floor. Lexa could tell that she was terrified, but despite this the blonde refused to show it. She couldn't help but to admire the blonde for it. The feeling of familiarity still refused to leave Lexa, and now when she was in the same room as the blonde and standing so close it was even stronger.

"I'm inside the private room with the Princess, 9-Delta completed, start 1-Charlie." She said, knowing that the only ones who could hear her were the princess in question and her colleagues on the other side of the earpiece.

"1-Charlie engaging, team 3 on the move. Good work Agent Woods." Anya's voice answered.

A few seconds after Anya had spoken the blonde looked up. At that moment it hit Lexa. Memories flashed in front of her eyes, they are all news articles, pictures in tabloids and on TV. At that moment Lexa knew. She was 100% certain.

In front of her stood the long lost daughter of the Chancellor. After 10 years of searching Clarke Griffin had finally been found.


	4. Salvation

Her feet are frozen solid, unable to move. Her mind is unable to form a single thought. It's like her mind is hollow, just an empty void between her ears. Her mind has completely shut off, because it's incapable of processing the reality it has found itself in. A fact that it knows is true, but it refuses to believe. The probability if this scenario ever happening was basically non-existent. In other words, it was pretty much impossible. Yet there she stood, merely 10ft away from her.

It's to difficult to comprehend and Lexa felt lightheaded as all the blood in her body suddenly vanished. Even though Lexa has never experienced any form of claustrophobia, she swore could feel and see the walls closing in on her. She was terrified and intrigued at the same time. In front of her stood a ghost. Maybe not in the literal sense but if Lexa believed in ghosts this is what they would look like. The blonde kept looking at her, her eyes glazed over, unseeing. It felt as she was looking straight through her without seeing her. There was no spark in those ocean blues. There was no life. But never the less, it was her, it was Clarke Griffin.

Clarke was standing in the middle of the room wearing exactly what she wore during the auction, they probably didn't have time to change their clothes, or lack of clothes, before the buyers wanted a taste of their newly bought sweets. The black bra and black panties the blonde had on didn't leave much to the imagination and Lexa couldn't help but gaze, she felt extremely guilty to have looked upon Clarke in this state of undress without the blonde in question being fully aware of her surroundings. The brunette immediately looked back into Clarke's eyes. The blonde still hadn't looked away from the spot at the back of Lexa's head. Still looking straight through her.

She looked so tired, and was staggering slightly. Her head was swaying and it looked as she was fighting sleep. The fact that she was wearing 4 inch heels and that her hands were handcuffed behind her back didn't help her balance either.

After what felt like hours, but was most likely a couple of seconds, Lexa was able to get her limbs in motion. Even though it felt as if her legs were made out of jello, she took one careful step forward. Clarke preceded to immediately look down, it looked like an unconscious response, a response that has been taught. Her eyes were pealed to the floor and her shoulders were sagged. All signs of submission. At this thought Lexa felt her heart break into what must have been a thousand or maybe even million pieces. These girls had been taught to surrender, to submit.

"Clarke..." Escaped her lips. It came out as a strangled whisper, barely audible. But Lexa could see Clarke's shoulders tense. Lexa couldn't help but wonder how long ago somebody called her by that name, have they always addressed her as Princess or have they said her name? Probably the former. She took another step forward, towards the blonde that now stood tense as a mannequin in the middle of the room. Clarke gaze was still locked downwards, refusing to look up.

"Come again Woods." The room was so quiet that Anya's voice sounded like a shout.

"It's her..."

"It's who? Woods what the hell are you talking about?"

"It's Clarke"

"Clarke, who?" Anya got frustrated with Lexa's vague responses.

"It's Clarke Griffin, it... it's the Chancellor's daughter. I swear to God, I even swear it on those God damned grounder cheeseburgers. It's her."

"Oh sweet Jesus. Wait... Are you telling me that the Princess, the girl that you just bought is Clarke Griffin?"

"Yes, it's her." Lexa's eyes had not left Clarke once during their time in the room. She just couldn't look away. It was as if she would disappear the moment she looked away.

"Well this certainly made this job a whole lot more interesting. Okay... Okay... Woods just stay the course. Team 3 is moving into position. You've got this Lexa. You have 2 minutes and 37 seconds left of your time alone with Princ... Clarke. Do your job Woods.

"Yes, ma'am."

The moment Lexa said those last words to Anya, Clarke stumbled. This time she was not able to catch herself from falling. Since her hands were handcuffed behind her back she was unable to stop herself from falling headfirst to the ground. She was about to land hard on the cold stone floor. But before her body could make contact with the floor Lexa darted forward and managed to catch her. Clarke tensed immediately, the blonde was completely frozen for about 3 seconds before she started thrashing. Her arms fought desperately to get away from what was holding her. Lexa could tell that the blonde was having some sort of panic attack. She thinks that she's going to harm her. She's afraid that Clarke will hurt herself, so she doesn't let go, instead she holds on tight.

"Shh... It's okay, you're safe. I'm not going to hurt you Clarke." She tried, but her soft words were ignored. Lexa feared that she might pass out if she doesn't get her breathing under control. So she went with the first thing that came to mind. She started to sing.

 _Slowly fading away_

 _You're lost and so afraid_

 _Where is the hope in a world so cold?_

 _Looking for a distant light_

 _Someone who could save a life_

 _You're living in fear that no one will hear your cries_

 _Can you save me now?_

Nevermind the fact that Lexa couldn't sing to save her own life and the fact that the song itself was kind of ironic considering the circumstances she found herself in at the moment. But it was the first song that came to mind and one of the only songs that Lexa new the lyrics to. Her singing seemed to be working, because Clarke stopped struggling against Lexa's grip, she settled into her arms. Her breathing was still elevated but it was slowly slowing down.

 _I am with you_

 _I will carry you through it all_

 _I won't leave you, I will catch you_

 _When you feel like letting go_

 _'Cause you're not, you're not alone_

Clarke was held on to the lapels of Lexa's suit like it was the only thing that could save her from the nightmares of reality. Tears had started to leak from underneath her eyelids onto the suit. But Lexa didn't care, all she could think about was that she would do anything to keep her safe. She couldn't understand were this sudden connection to Clarke came from. Her instincts were to hold on to the girl in her arm and never let go. Her job wasn't done. Clarke was still in danger.

 _Slowly fading away_

 _You're lost and so afraid_

 _Where is the hope in a world so cold_

As Lexa sang the last words of the song Clarke had succumbed to her exhaustion and had fallen asleep in her arms. She placed a kiss on top of the blonde's golden locks.

"Shh... It's okay. You're going to be okay Clarke. I'm here now."

"You're voice is still as shitty as ever Woods."

A small and quiet chuckle left Lexa's lips.

"You love it Pine."

"How is she doing?"

"She's shaken, and she's currently asleep."

"Team 3 is in position, there will be a knock on your door in t-minus 25 seconds. You know what to do Lexa."

"I'm ready."

"See you at the end of the rainbow."

After 19 seconds a knock on the door was heard. Clarke stirred and kept holding onto Lexa. The brunette lifted Clarke up in a bridal carry and managed to get the door open with one hand while holding onto Clarke with the other. Outside the door stood Finn Collins, along with two guards, Lexa didn't know if it were the same guys as before, but she didn't care and it didn't matter.

"I see that you have enjoyed your purchase Miss Thompson." Finn said while nodding towards the blonde in her arms.

"Yes, she was quite enjoyable. I am very pleased." The words that left her mouth felt like vermin, but she had to keep playing her part. Clarke's life was depending on it. Lexa was determined not to fail.

"Splendid, well then let's proceed to my office to finalize the purchase. Do you wish to carry her yourself Miss Thompson or would you rather have someone else do it?"

"I'll carry her myself. But thank you for offering Mr Collins." She gave him a polite nod.

"Very well. Right this way miss."

Once again she followed him. Her mission was getting closer to it's end, soon they'll go back to the corridor that led to were the auction took place and where Team 3 and Anya were waiting. As they closed in on the auction hall her eyes wandered down to look at the blonde that she carried in her arms. She had been so shaken when they first made contact but now Clarke held on to Lexa as if she was the only thing keeping her sane. The grip she had on Lexa was firm, almost to the point of pain. But Lexa didn't care, the only thing she could think about was how to get Clarke away from here and to safety. She had to stick to the plan.

They had now walked into the circle corridor surrounding the auction room. Lexa saw the door to the booth she sat in just a few minutes before. As they got closer to the office she heard Anya's voice in her ear. 

"Stop there." Immediately Lexa stopped in her tracks. This was it. Now her job was to stand completely still, while holding onto Clarke.

"Miss Thompson?" Finn had noticed that Lexa had stopped following him. His guards had now turned around as well.

"3... 2... 1... GO!" All of a sudden the door right behind Finn was slammed open and out of it poured the members of Team 3. All wore their SWAT uniforms. Their guns pointed towards Finn and his guards.

"Hands in the air! Drop your weapons!"

Finn's guards had dropped their weapons within 5 seconds and held up their arms in surrender. Probably mercenaries, only in it for the money. They are loyal to whoever has the most money. But luckily it didn't seem like these mercenaries got paid enough to fight back against a group of highly trained special agents. Finn however stood still, he had not yet moved.

"Hands in the air!" Anya commaned, but her command was yet again ignored by Finn. He was surrounded, but he refused to move. His back was slightly turned towards Lexa, he obviously though that she was less of a threat. Because of his position, Lexa could see that his hand reaching behind his back and that he tried to grab onto something. Quickly Lexa managed to get loose from Clarke's grip on her suit and gently but quickly placed her on the floor before she rose again and flung herself at Finn before he managed to point the gun at Anya and the others. Lexa slammed his body into the wall and the gun had flown from his grip. In the commotion Finn had lost his balance and was then easily subdued by Lexa. She now sat on his back hindering him from going anywhere. Anya moved closer and gave Lexa a pair of handcuffs, with which Lexa proceeded to close around his wrists.

"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to speak to an attorney and to have an attorney present during questioning. If you can not afford an attorney one will be provided for you at government expense."

Lexa stood up from Finn's back and a member of the SWAT team grabbed a hold of Finn and helped him onto his feet. The brunette wanted to punch him so bad. She wanted him to feel what these girls must have felt for ages. He deserved a painful and slow death. A quiet sob behind her broke her thoughts. When she turned around she saw Clarke laid on the ground. Her breaths came once again in short successions. Immediately she embraced her. This time Clarke didn't fight her. Instead she grabbed a hold of Lexa,and burried her face in the brunette's neck. Lexa rubbed soothing circles on Clarke's back.

"Shh... It's all over now Clarke. It's over. You're safe. It's time to go home."


	5. Muddy Waters

**This chapter has been updated, got a comment saying that it would be more realistic if a doctor informed the Griffins about Clarke's condition. Which I completely agree on, so here is the updated version of Chapter 5.**

Clarke had refused to let go of Lexa, clinging onto her for dear life. She had awoken during the fight with Finn. Lexa preceded to lift her up in her arms once again and carried her to the awaiting ambulances. Lexa rode in the ambulance with Clarke to the hospital because the blonde had gotten agitated when Lexa tried to loosen her grip on her. The paramedics agreed that Lexa should stay with Clarke during the ride to avoid additional stress to her. They didn't want to use sedatives unless it was absolutely necessary because of the drugs that were already in the blonde's system.

Once they had gotten to the hospital Lexa was no longer allowed to follow Clarke. The moment she lost contact with her Clarke had went mad. She started screaming and trashing against the doctors hold. Her arms and legs, kicking and hitting anything within reach. She had managed to hit one of the doctors with a left hook right in the face. Making the doctor tumble backwards and fall to the floor. Lexa could only stand and watch as the doctors took a hold on Clarke's arms and punched a needle into her right upper arm. Within seconds the girls stopped fighting and fallen limp against the doctors.

During the examination the had found a lot of bruises all around her body. But they seemed to be strategically placed. She was bruised the most at places that would hurt a lot, but not seriously harm her. After all, they could not seriously harm the merchandise. They also stated that she was quite severely malnourished and dehydrated but other than that she seemed fine. Although the amount of drugs and other unknown substances in her body was had the doctors worried for a second, especially after they had to sedate her to be able to examine her. However after a quick test they could determine that she was out of the woods. But just barely. The slave traders must have had a special knowledge of how much a body could take without succumbing to a drug overdose. Because the levels in her system were not far of the believed limit.

After the examination the doctors had handed her over to a small group of nurses who placed her on a special hospital bed with wheels on and drove her away, the doctors proceeded to examine the other 34 girls that they had rescued from the auction. The mission had been a huge success. Everything had gone as planned. Well, almost everything. Nobody had imagined that they would find the missing Clarke Griffin there. But other than that everything had gone according to plan. Nobody had gotten seriously injured during the takeover and all of the girls had been safely transported out of the building and to the hospital.

Lexa was currenly standing outside of Clarke's room in the hospital, along with Dr. Thelonious Jaha, waiting for the Chancellor and her husband to arrive. She looked through the window and onto the room's sole inhabitant. She had been cleaned and given a white hospital gown with pale blue dots on it. Because of her previous aggressive behavior towards the doctors she was restrained with leather cuffs. They had put extra padding on the inside to not agitate her already injured wrists, the injuries that she had gotten while captured. The sedatives the doctors had given her had since long left her system, however she was still fast asleep. The drugs had taken a toll on her. Perhaps she had been slightly drugged for the entirety of those 10 years, they didn't know. She was also exhausted from the massive emotional trauma she had gone through. Maybe deep inside the girl knew that she was safe at last. For the first time in 10 years, she was safe.

Rushed footsteps shook Lexa out of her stupor. She looked away from Clarke and saw the Chancellor approaching with long fast strides, her husband right behind her with equally rushed steps. Both of them wearing looks of anxiousness with a hint of relief. Their disheveled appearances revealed that they had more than likely jumped straight out of bed and rushed straight to the hospital as soon as they had gotten the call. A quick glance at the clock on the wall behind the couple told Lexa that the time was 02.28. She had been awake for just over 21 hours now. Her nervousness the day before making her unable to sleep properly. Instead she had gone through the case details and staged all possible scenarios that could have happened in her head. It was as if her body right then and there remembered that she was tired. Because a wave of exhaustion and sleepiness hit her. She took a deep breath and blinked a few times in quick succession to wake herself up.

"Hi Abby, Hi Jake" Jaha said with a solemn smile

"Hello Thelonious." Answered Abby.

"Chancellor Griffin, Mr Griffin." Nodding towards them both in a greeting.

"I'm Special Agent Alexandria Woods. I was the undercover agent during this operation. We were able to safely escort Ms Griffin from captivity to safety a few hours ago."

Lexa moved away from the window slightly, allowing the couple to see their daughter for the first time in 10 years. With a look of complete despair mixed with happiness and relief on their faces they gazed upon their long lost daughter. The normally stoic Chancellor had tears running down her cheeks and so did her husband. They just couldn't contain the feelings rushing through their bodies.

"How is she?" Asked Abby after a few minutes, her voice thick because of her tears.

"Physically she's fine. She has some bruising on places all over her body, but nothing serious. She's severely malnourished and dehydrated, but they have given her fluids and she is already a lot better. The drugs has completely left her system. We do not yet know how her time in captivity has affected her mentally. But physically she will recover fully." Dr Jaha answered. The doctor was a close friend of the Chancellor and knew that she was a fully trained doctor. She had put that career on hold now that she was Chancellor, so he knew that she would appreciate to receive the facts without someone sugarcoating it.

"Can we see her?" Asked Jake.

"Yes, she is currently asleep but you may enter her room. Although I must warn you that, as you know, she has gone through extreme emotional trauma and she has previously acted aggressively towards people, hence the restraints. It is possible that she might not recognize you. It has happened before in previous cases similar to this. That the victim was unable to identify family members and acting aggressively towards them. So I suggest that you tread with caution, no quick movements and loud noises." Jaha answered.

"If you have any further questions, feel free to ask either myself, a nurse or Agent Woods here. She's been informed of Clarke's injuries. I have to finish my rounds now. " With that the doctor walked away.

Lexa walked up to the door leading into Clarke's room and opened the door for the blonde's family. Abby walked into the room first, closely followed by Jake. Lexa walked in last and closed the door after them. She stood still by the door, slightly looking away as if to not disturb the intimate moment happening before her. Jake had walked up to the side of the bed. He had carefully grasped Clarke's hand in his own. Caressing it softly with his thumb.

"Hi kiddo." His voice barely a whisper. However it seemed to have been heard by the blonde, she had stirred slightly at the noise. Within seconds her blue eyes opened. At first it seemed as if she didn't see anything. She just stared up at the ceiling. Her eyes just as blank and hollow as the first time Lexa saw them. As Jake's thumb once again caressed her right hand, she flinched. Her eyes no longer unseeing, the void in her eyes gone and replaced with the look of utter fear. Jake noticed this as well and immediately released her hand. However that didn't seem to help because Clarke had started to hyperventilate and thrash against her restraints.

"NO! PLEASE! I'M SO SORRY!" Heartbroken words left her mouth. Never before had Lexa heard someone sound like this.

"I DIDN'T MEAN IT! I'LL BE GOOD, I'LL BE GOOD!" Clarke's chest heaved as it desperately tried to breathe in oxygen. However it was futile as Clarke got more and more agitated.

"PLEASE, PLEASE! I'M SO SORRY! NO!"

Lexa rushed to her side, slightly pushing Jake back to get to the side of the bed.

"Clarke, it's okay you're safe. You need to breathe sweetheart. Shh... Shh... you need to breathe." At the sound of her voice the blonde stopped screaming, but the thrashing continued, and her breathing was still elevated. Lexa feared once again that she would pass out. So she followed her instincts and released the blonde from her restraints. Arms took hold of her shirt and tugged her towards the blonde. Lexa hugged her as Clarke desperately held on to her. Clarke had stopped thrashing and once Lexa started humming the lyrics to a song she stopped struggling altogether. Her previous screams had now transformed into sobs.

 _It is not clear why we choose the fire pathway_  
 _Where we end is not the way that we had planned_  
 _All the spirits gather 'round like its our last day_  
 _To get across you know we'll have to raise the sand_

Lexa could swear that she hear humming coming from her chest. In between sobs Clarke was humming to the song.

 _Oooh, I will ask you for mercy_  
 _I will come to you blind_  
 _What you'll see is the worst me_  
 _I'm not the last of my kind_

As the song processed Clarke sank deeper into Lexa's embrace. The crying had stopped and she was now simply listening to Lexa's terrible singing skills. She seemed to cling to every word, to every sound Lexa made.

 _In the muddy water we're falling_  
 _In the muddy water we're crawling_  
 _Holds me down_  
 _Hold me now_  
 _Sold me out_  
 _In the muddy waters we're falling_

Before the song had ended Clarke fell asleep against her. Lexa now supporting her full weight as she continued to caress her back and humming along to the songs melody. After a few minutes she carefully placed Clarke back on the bed. The blonde let out a quiet whimper as Lexa loosened the arms around her, not wanting to let go. Understanding that the blonde even in sleep wanted her body contact she held on to her hand as she drew comforting circles with her thumb. Lexa looked up at the other people in the room for the first time in 5 minutes. They both wore faces of sorrow, but also of awe. As if they couldn't quite understand what they were feeling and seeing.

"How did you know to do that?" Abby silently asked, her voice full of wonder.

"I have done it once before with her. It was the only thing that she responded to then, so I thought it was worth a try." The agent looked down at Clarke once again, she was flooded with a river of emotions as the gazed upon the blonde before her. What they meant she had no idea.

"You and your husband should go home and get some rest Chancellor Griffin, there is not much I can do at the moment, and she needs to rest. I will stay with her. Go home, your daughter is safe." Lexa said with a soft voice, she didn't want the blonde to wake up again. She needed her rest.

"Thank you Agent Woods. I don't know how to thank you for bringing our daughter back."

Lexa answered the Chancellor with a polite and slow nod. Abby and Jake walked slowly out of the room, and Lexa could see them walk past the window, casting a last glance at their daughter before they disappeared from view. The brunette reached for the chairs just inside her reach and dragged it as quietly as possible next to the bed, she did this without breaking her hold on Clarke's hand. After she had sat down in the chair she looked one last time at the blonde angel in the bed in front of her, before she let her exhaustion win and she leaned her head on the side of the bed and promptly fell asleep.


	6. Shattered

The first thing that she noticed was a rhythmic beeping. For the first time in as long as she could remember she felt warm and... safe. It was as if her body knew it was safe without her mind's knowledge. But that was the problem, she couldn't comprehend why she felt safe.

The last thing that she could remember properly was Master Collins telling her that she was to be sold off when the next auction took place. She could remember being terrified of what would happen in the future. Would her new Master beat her in worse ways than they were doing here. What would make her new Master's cock rise. Would he rape her and use her in ways that even Jesus himself wouldn't be able to save you from your sins? It was the fear of the unknown that drove her crazy. Considering who she was, not that she could remember who that was, she was in some ways left untouched. The only physical violence used on her was different forms of slaps and occasionally a fist or two in the stomach if she didn't obey fast enough. The other girls however were not so lucky. She could still remember the screams of a 16 year old girl as several of the guards forced themselves on her. 'Cheetah' she thought 'I think that was her name'. She had only been at the headquarter for a few days. None of the girls were allowed to see each other. But the walls between each of their cells were so thin that you could practically hear them breathing. So the sound of Cheetah's wails and the heavy vibrations of the guards thrust's and laughter echoed through her mind, unwilling to let go.

The only thing that Clarke could do was to lay quietly and listen to Cheetah begging for them to stop. But both Cheetah and Clarke knew that they wouldn't stop, they wouldn't listen. They never did. Over the years Clarke had listened to countless girls being used in despicable and gruesome ways. Yet there she laid, chained to the wall, on top of a worn down bed. Unable to move more than to the other side of her room. The door was located in a place that was unreachable when chained. No one has ever been able to escape this place. Nobody had tried in years. The furthest anybody had come was through the door, but her escape ended there. That was 6 years ago. Maybe she was lucky, because the guards shot her on sight. One bullet in the brain, a quick and painless way to go. Her body had landed hard on the wooden floor with a loud thump right outside Clarke's door.

A few seconds later a red liquid had passed under her door and flowed into her room. Painting the floor in a dark red color. 2 minutes after the death of the girl loud footsteps was heard. Second later, she could hear Master Collins voice. The tone in his voice was the antagonist in her nightmares. It was the one he used when she disobeyed and a stream of blows always followed. His tone made her crawl to the back of the bed. She placed herself as far away as she could, even though she knew that it was pointless.

"What the fuck is this shit?! Finn bellowed.

"The girl broke out of her cell boss." One of the guards stumbled out. His voice shaking.

"And you though that shooting her was the best option?!"

"Yes, boss. She took us by surprise."

"She took... She fucking took you by surprise? Are you fucking kidding me? I can't fucking deal with you right now, report to Mr. Wallace's office right fucking now, and you better give him a better fucking reason than "She took us by surprise." when you tell him that you just shot an asset worth 250 000 dollars!"

"Yes boss."

They both took of in a fast pace. Putting as much distance between themselves and the angry boss. It seemed as though the girls were not the only ones' who feared the Masters. Master Collins had after a few minutes of what must have been quiet thinking called for backup to clean up, and something else that Clarke couldn't catch. Within a few moments rushed footsteps of 5 guards echoed through the halls, they carried what Clarke now knew was chains. She had heard them unlock and open every cell, walk into the room and fasten the chains. Eventually they had reached her door and she was terrified. What did they do to the other girls, and what would they do to her? Her least favorite person in the world unlocked the door. Master Collins stepped into her cell with a grim look on his face. He carried a syringe filled with a liquid inside in his right hand. His left hand had blood dropping from the fingertips. Clarke realized that, it must have been the girl's blood on his hand. Clarke took a quick look behind the man and saw the now dead body of the girl who had previously occupied the cell next to her. It was the first time she had seen her and Clarke couldn't help but notice her beauty. Dark brown hair with equally dark brown eyes. Even though her eyes were open and vacant, she looked peaceful in her never ending slumber and Clarke couldn't help but wish that she could take her place.

But sadly, she was still alive and Master Collins was still standing in front of her with his bloody hands and a syringe containing God know what.

"Are you going to be a good girl and obey me, Princess?"

"Yes, Master."

"Get down on your knees and hold your arms up."

Clarke immediately obeyed and crawled out of the bed. She got down on her knees and held her arms up, waiting for her next command. She knew that she was not allowed to move unless told to, so she stayed absolutely still even when Master Collins walked up to her and injected the syringe into her upper arm. Within second she felt nauseous and it was as if the world around her was spinning.

"Good girl."

When she had woken up, she had woken up with an added weight to her ankle. Looking down she had noticed that her left ankle was chained to the wall next to her bed. Feeling even more hopeless than ever she had sat down on top of her bed and pulled her knees up as close as she could. She would not let herself cry, because it was useless. The more you cried the more you got beaten. She had learnt that early on in her stay at the headquarters. And that's how she spent the rest of those 6 years in her cell. Crawled up in the corner of the bed. She had never been without chains after that day.

The day of the auction was a blur, the only thing she did remember was Master Collins informing her of her impending doom. She was injected with something and went straight into a restless slumber. The rest is foggy. Glimpses of memories flashing in her eyes. It was as if she remembered something somewhat clearly and then she closed her eyes and she was in an entirely different situation.

She's stumbling onto a well lit stage, her eyes unwilling to focus on anything around her, she's barely able to keep herself upright.

She's ushered into a dark room, and the door behind her is locked as dread washes through her.

The door is unlocked and a woman steps in. So her new Master is a woman.

"Clarke" she said. No. No. No. Clarke doesn't exist. No.

 _"Come here Clarke. it's tickle time!" A gentle and familiar voice said._

 _She looked up and locked eyes with a man with kind and happy eyes_ _. He was wearing a smile on his face that went from ear to ear._

 _"No dad! It's called cuddle time."_

 _"Alright kiddo, let's cuddle, what movie are we watching?"_

 _"Beauty and the Bitch."_

 _"Beauty and the what?"_

 _"The bitch?"_

 _"Where did you learn that word Clarke?"_

 _"Raven said it at school. She said that the movie should be called Beauty and the Bitch instead of Beauty and the beast."_

 _Her father had just laughed._

 _"Did she now? Well you shouldn't say bitch Clarke so I wouldn't say it in front of your mother if I was you, this will be our little secret."_

 _"I won't tell mom, I promise dad."_

She sometimes encountered these kinds of images. She didn't know if they were memories, but it would be the only thing that made sense and she felt a strong sense of déjà vu every time she got one. The people in her dreams always felt familiar.

The next thing Clarke could remember was being held in someone's arms. An embrace that was comforting, instead of hurtful and abusive in some sort of way. Clarke could hear soft singing and felt the vibrations in the other person's chest. She took a deep breath and felt herself relax. The scent of this person somehow calmed her down.

These are the only things she could remember somewhat clearly, the rest is a blur with mixed and confusing images.

She now heard the rhythmic beeping of some sort of machine next to her. She felt content and it terrified her. Clarke tried to open her eyes, but her eyelids felt like they were made of concrete. Instead she tried to move her arms. Her left hand followed her where ever she wanted it to go, but her right hand was stuck. Initially this didn't scare her, because she was used to being chained up in one way or another. But when she realized that the thing holding her hand down wasn't made from some sort of metal. It was warm and comforting. It was a human hand holding her own hand down. Clarke's eyes immediately snapped open and she was blinded by a bright white light. After a few seconds her eyes had adapted to the light and she could look around. She was in a white room, it was mostly bare except for the beeping machine next to her. It seemed to be counting her heartbeats. When she looked to her right she saw a woman sitting there. It was a woman holding her hand. Her long brown locks sprawled on the side of Clarke's bed. She held her hand in a tight but comforting grip.

So this was her new Master. But why were she sitting by the side of her bed, holding onto her hand?

Clarke tried to get her hand out of the grip the brunette had it in. But the small movement had made her stir in her sleep.

And she was met with an intense green gaze.


	7. Who Am I?

Lexa felt something twitching in her hand. She had always been a light sleeper, the smallest amount of movement or sound always woke her up. She realized that she had fallen asleep with her head on Clarke's bed and her hand holding the blonde's. When she felt the twitching in her hand again she looked up to where she met those steel blue eyes. Once again Lexa is struck with the beauty and pain she finds within those blue eyes. They stare into each others eyes for what feels like hours. Something like this has never happened to Lexa before, nobody had gotten her speechless before. The agent always had something up her sleeve, and was never surprised.

Not a single soul had been able to get her mind this blank, but as she gazed upon this fragile looking blonde girl in front of her, she was undeniably speechless. She kept memorizing every little piece of her precious facial features, from the perfect curve of her eyebrows to the mole on top of the left side of her lip. But the thing that she kept looking back to was her eyes.

The cliché of that was not lost on Lexa, but it was true none the less. Clarke's eyes were still hollow, similar to the other times Lexa had looked into them. But as she looked deeper she found a small spark. She wasn't an empty shell anymore.

Lexa took a deep breath and had at last gathered enough courage to speak.

"Hello Clarke, how are you feeling?"

Immediately the blonde got tense and broke eye contact, she looked away and refused to meet her eye.

"Clarke-" She began again, but was interrupted before she could finish.

"Clarke doesn't exist"

Even though it was only she and Clarke in the small hospital room, and the only sound breaking the heavy silence was the beeping of the hear monitor that was connected to the blonde, she was barely able to hear the faint whisper of Clarke's words.

"Okay, if you are not Clarke, who are you then?"

She watched as Clarke's eyes snapped shut, her beautiful features crumbled as a painful expression took over her face.

 _"WHO ARE YOU?!"_

 _"Clar-..."_

 _*SLAP*_

 _"I SAID WHO ARE YOU?!"_

 _"I'm Clarke."_

 _*SLAP*_

 _"One last time, who the fuck are you?"_

 _"I-I.. I'm no one."_

 _"That's right you little shit. You are nothing, you are no one. You are whoever the fuck we want you to be. Do you understand?"_

 _"Yes."_

 _*SLAP*_

 _"Yes, what?"_

 _"Yes Master."_

"I'm whoever you want me to be." Lexa is taken aback by her answer, she wasn't expecting that.

"Well, who do you want to be?"

"I'm no one."

"Okay No One, how are you feeling?"

"We both know that that's a lie Cl..-No One."

Clarke immediately tensed and looked extremely frightened.

"No. No… No no no, I would never lie, I'm sorry Master, I didn't lie. I didn't lie, please don't hit me, I didn't lie."

The blonde was shaking with fear, her eyes sewn shut, expecting a beating to come any second.

"Hey... Hey... Shh.. It's okay, I'm not going to hit you. I promise. You're safe with me."

Clarke looked at her like she had all of a sudden grown two heads. As if she couldn't quite believe what she was hearing.

"I would never hurt you No One, you are never going to be beaten ever again, I can promise you that Cl.. Can I call you Clarke?"

"Yes, Master."

Lexa felt as if she had been struck. Clarke had called her Master, Clarke actually though that she was still a slave, that she had been bought by Lexa for real.

"Please don't call me that Clarke, I am not you Master. You have no Master, you are free."

"What do you want me to call you, miss?"

Lexa could tell that the blonde had these manners deeply imprinted. It was if her words were mechanical, as if it was not really she that was speaking.

"You can call me Lexa, Clarke."

"Lexa." Clarke quietly repeated.

"Do you know where you are Clarke?"

"No, Ma-.. Lexa." Lexa pretended not to have noticed the slip, afraid that Clarke would think that she would hit her.

"Do you know what happened?"

"No, Lexa."

"You are in a hospital at the moment, you were rescued from Mount Weather yesterday, do you remember that?"

"Not entirely, I can remember small glimpses. But there are a lot of black spots where I don't remember anything."

"Alright, well that's to be expected considering the amount of drugs that were in you body at the time. Now to my first question, how do you feel Clarke?"

The blonde stayed silent. Their eye contact was once again broken as Clarke looked down at the sheets. She swallowed audibly and took a deep but shaky breath before she finally spoke.

"I'm scared." It was but a mere whisper that Lexa barely heard, but hear it she did.

"Why are you scared?"

"I'm afraid that I will wake up any second and realize that this is all a dream."

"This is not a dream Clarke, I am very real and what is happening at the moment is also very real."

"I really want to believe you, but this has happened before."

"What do you mean?"

"I've had several dreams like this. all of them turning out to be to good to be true. I always wake up and find myself back in my cell."

"I promise you Clarke, this is all very real. It is not a dream."

"I really wish that I could believe you Lexa, I really do. It's just that I don't."

Lexa watched as a tear managed to break through Clarke's barriers and had began it's journey down her cheek. The brunette pushed herself and her chair closer to Clarke's bed and slowly reached out to grab Clarke's hand in her own.

"I'm going to grab your hand now Clarke."

When she received a small and tense nod she gently took hold of the blonde's hand. Placing it on her chest, right on top of her heart. She watched as more tears ran down Clarke's cheeks as the blonde felt Lexa's heartbeats underneath her palm.

"This is very real Clarke. I am very real Clarke."

Clarke stopped fighting her tears and had now started sobbing, however this time there were no tears of sadness, fear or despair. These tears were of relief. The brunette saw the twitching hands and desperate look in Clarke's eyes, and without words she understand what the blonde wanted but couldn't express. Without a second thought she stood up and sat down on top of the bed and took Clarke in her arms. The blonde sank into the embrace and held on for dear life, still not quite believing what she was seeing and feeling was true, but it felt real. So she held on, taking in the scent of the woman hugging her. 'Wait' she thought as she once again took in the scent of Lexa.

 _"Slowly fading away_

 _You're lost and so afraid_

 _Where is the hope in a world so cold?_

 _Looking for a distant light_

 _Someone who could save a life_

 _You're living in fear that no one will hear your cries_

 _Can you save me now?"_

 _"Shh... It's all over now Clarke. It's over. You're safe. It's time to go home."_

"It's you. You are real." Clarke mumbled into Lexa's neck between sobs.

"Yes, Clarke. I am real."

"You are a terrible singer."

"That is very true." Lexa said as she started laughing.

For the first time in 10 years, Clarke laughed. Unfathomable happiness flowed through her body.

* * *

The shrill sound of her phone ringing woke her up. Groaning she reached for her phone and answered.

"Reyes."

"Raven, it's Octavia."

"Hey, O. What can I do for ya'? What was so important that you had to call me at.." Looking at the clock on her nightstand. "..7:30 in the morning?"

"Have you watched the news?" Raven narrowed her eyes at the agitated tone in Octavia's voice.

"No, you know I never do that, unless it's like about NASA or somethi-"

"It's Clarke."

Raven almost dropped her phone when the blonde's name reached her ears. The normally cool and collected mechanic was now outright terrified.

"Wha... What about Clarke?"

She was afraid to ask, she craved the answer but at the same time she didn't want to hear it. The brunette was certain that Octavia had called to say that they had called of the search, or that they hadn't because they had found her body.

"They found her Raven, they found her." She could tell that Octavia had trouble processing what she knew.

"Oh my god, is she... is she-?"

"She's alive."

"Oh my god. Where is she?"

"She's at the hospital at the moment, that's all I know, I just watched the news and... Raven she was rescued from Mount Weather. I don't know anything else but, God. She was in fucking Mount Weather."

Almost everyone knew what Mount Weather was and what happened there. Raven knew that the police had been trying to catch them for years but to no avail. She turned on the TV that she had in her bedroom, It seemed as the Mount Weather rescue was the only thing on TV, at least is was the only thing Raven cared about.

 **"This night at around midnight 35 girls were rescued from this building behind me. Among them was Clarke Griffin, the chancellor of Polis' daughter, who has been missing for the last 10 years."**

The news reportage switched from the red headed reporter to footage of a blonde girl with a blanket wrapped around her body, clinging onto a brunette with a long black dress. Raven watched as the blonde refused to let go and the brunette was allowed into the ambulance with her. At first Raven wondered how the journalist managed to get that footage, but then she realized that there had to have been several ambulances and police cars there and they attract a lot of attention, especially when there are so many at the same place at the same time. As she gazed upon the blonde girl hanging onto the other woman, she couldn't help but feel a sense of familiarity.

"Raven?"

"Yeah, I'm here. I just turned on the TV and I'm watching the news now."

"How did the reporters get there so quickly? I mean they have footage of someone being carried to one of the ambulances." Octavia asked.

"You know reporters, they are like mosquitoes to light. They must have been attracted by the quantity of ambulances and police cars."

Raven took one more look at the TV before she got up and got dressed, still holding onto the phone.

"I'm going to the hospital, I know that we probably won't be allowed to see her now, but I'm going down there."

"Yeah, me too. I'll meet you at the hospital."

"Yes, bye O."

"Bye, Rae"

Raven hung up the phone and walked out of her apartment, locking the door behind her. 

"I'm coming Clarkey."


	8. Where Do We Go From Here?

Clarke and Lexa sat in the hospital in complete silence, but it was a comfortable silence. The conversation had long since died out, and they were just enjoying each others company. For hours they had sat in Clarke's bed, still holding onto one another, but not with the same amount of desperation as before. They had talked about all kinds of things, the main topic had been about Lexa's weird fascination with deep sea squids. At which Clarke had laughed. It was a strange feeling... Laughing. It was as if her muscles weren't used to being utilized in such a way. After minutes of pure laughter, Clarke's lungs were screaming for air. But Clarke reveled in the feeling. Being able to let go of all of her inhibitions and just feel free. Never in a million years had she though that she would ever be able to feel anything like this. Lexa had long since moved back to the chair next to the blonde's bed, but she still remained close to Clarke, unwilling to be any further away from her than she already was.

Their little bubble of content was shattered when the door to Clarke's room was opened and in stepped a dark skinned man in a white doctor's robe.

Immediately Clarke tensed up, her breathing speeding up. Lexa noticed Clarke's discomfort and gently grasped the blonde's hand.

"Hello Clarke, I don't know if you remember me but I am Doctor Thelonious Jaha. I've come to check up on how you are feeling and to also inform you that you will most likely be heading home in a little while. If you feel well enough, that is."

Clarke continued to stare at Thelonious with a frightened look upon her face, but she managed to stay somewhat calm because of the brunette sitting next to her bed, who was still holding her hand and rubbing comforting circles on the top of her hand with her thumb.

"How are you feeling Clarke? Any nausea? Chest pain? Headaches? Or general dizziness?

Clarke remained silent, eyeing the doctor in front of her with mistrust.

"If you don't answer the questions, I can not help you and I can not send you home, Clarke." Jaha said in a quiet and reassuring voice.

The dark skinned man in a doctor's robe looked familiar, but she could not place him anywhere.

 _"Hello Jake, good to see you again, it's been to long."_

 _"You're right about that Thelonious."_

 _"Look at you Clarke, you've grown so much since I last saw you."_

"Clarke? Could you answer the question please?"

The blonde swallowed nervously and glanced at the woman holding her hand. Looking for reassurance, which she was given when Lexa gave her an encouraging nod. Gently asking her to answer the doctor's question.

"I-eh... I..." The words felt like giant lumps in her throat. No matter how hard she tried, she could not get the words out.

"It's okay Clarke, take your time." Said the brunette next to her.

After taking a few deep breaths, Clarke spoke again.

"I feel okay. No nausea, no headaches, dizziness or chest pain."

"Okay, that's good Clarke. That's all I wanted to know. Your parents are waiting right outside, I'm going to send them in now."

His only answer was a small nod from the blond, Thelonious opened the door and a faint "You can come in now" was heard. In stepped the Chancellor and her husband. Her mother and father. They both had an apprehensive look upon their faces, it was as if they were afraid that the smallest amount of movement would frighten the blonde. So their movements were slow and easy to follow. A major case of Déjà vu hit her when she looked at her parents, the parents she never though she'd see again. But seeing them step into her hospital room with the brunette sitting next to her felt eerily familiar.

 _"Hi kiddo."_

 _""NO! PLEASE! I'M SO SORRY!"_

"Clarke..." The gentle voice of her father reached her ears.

"Dad..." Her voice shook as tears pooled in her eyes. She was really here, it was not a dream. Her father was here.

* * *

"Jesus Octavia, where have you been? We said we would meet each other here in 10 minutes, it has been 15 minutes since I said that."

"Okay, first of all Rae, we did not say a time. We said we would meet each other here. Second of all I live 20 minutes farther away from the hospital than you do, I should have been here in 30 minutes. But I might have been speeding a little bit, and by a little bit I mean that I would have definitely lost my driver's license if I had been caught by the police, luckily I was not.

"Oh right, sorry O."

"It's alright Raven, we're all a bit on edge."

Together they walked through the entrance to the hospital. At the first glance they could see that it was crowded. Few of the people in the room actually looked sick, others looked as if they were waiting, maybe they were the families of the other girls rescued from Mount Weather, and of course the media was here as well. After all, what happened yesterday might have been the biggest thing that has happened in Polis since the actual disappearance of Clarke Griffin. God knows the media went nuts when the news that the Chancellor's own daughter had disappeared in their own home without a trace broke out.

Raven could still remember when her mother got a phone call from a distraught Abby, telling her that her best friend was missing. Clarke and Raven had been friends since they were 7 years old, along with Octavia who they met when they were 9. All three of them were inseparable. The media had went in all sorts of directions regarding what happened to the young blonde. Many believed that she had ran away from home, but Raven knew that was not possible. Clarke loved her family, she loved her home and she would never leave her life behind voluntarily. No, Raven knew that something bad had happened to her friend. Something really, really bad.

"Raven, how are we going to find her? We are not relatives so we won't be able to just ask the girl over there" pointing a the young woman standing behind desk looking incredible bored. "Because she's not allowed to tell us where Clarke is."

"Let's just walk around, we'll eventually find her."

"Rae, this is a massive hospital. We'll never find her. And besides, she'll most likely have guards posted outside her door since she is the Chancellor's daughter after all."

"O! You are a genius."

"Of course I am, but what did I do that was so brilliant now?"

"She'll have guards posted outside her door. We'll just have to run around the hospital until we find some guards and there she'll be."

"Okay but Raven, let's say we do find her. How do we get past the guards?"

Scratching the back of her head Raven answered.

"I-eh... Well, I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

"Great plan Raven. Great plan." Octavia said sarcastically and rolled her eyes.

"Hey, don't get sassy with me Missy. Now come on."

Grabbing hold on Octavia's hand, Raven dragged the other brunette further into the hospital. Walking through every corridor, looking for those guards. It took them about 30 minutes of constant walking, up and down stars. Because they didn't have time to wait for the elevator, At least according to Raven, but at last they saw two guards posted outside a normal looking hospital room.

"Ha, told ya." Raven whispered excitedly.

"Yeah, it only took 30 minutes, and I did not sign up for all of that exercise."

"Aren't you supposed to be a training freak, O?"

"Only when I get to stare at Lincoln's perfect ass all the time."

"Amen, Sister."

"Okay, in a serious note. Now that we are at the bridge. How the fuck do we get over it?"


	9. Coming Home

"It's time to go home now Clarke, you are physically fine and your parents and I agreed that the best option for you is to go home and recover from this ordeal than to do it here in the hospital."

Clarke looked at Jaha as she talked, nodding slowly. She uses her arms to push herself into a sitting position. It is harder than she originally thought, but she is used to feeling weak. When she tried to stand up she stumbled, but was steadied by both her father and Thelonious. Which caused her to freeze, her whole body tensed up. Quickly searching for comfort her eyes found Lexa's and with pleading eyes she begged her to understand. Lexa sensed her worry and immediately walked up to the blonde, steadying her by the waist and the two men let go. Leaning close to Clarke's ear she whispered:

"It's alright Clarke, I'm right here. You're okay." and the blonde in her arms calmed down, her shoulders sagging in relief.

Both Jake and Abby noticed their daughter's reaction to the brunette agent, but they said nothing as they watched Lexa help Clarke into the wheelchair that had been brought in a few minutes ago.

Lexa wheeled the blonde out of her hospital room, down the corridor to the elevator with the Chancellor and her husband in tow. Abby pressed the button to the ground level and they waited as the elevator began it's journey down the elevator shaft, all the while Lexa rubbed comforting circles on Clarke's shoulders. Once the door opened they took the private route to the back exit, where there were less journalists and photographers. Lexa pushed Clarke all the way up to the black SUV waiting for them. The Chancellor opened the door for them, Lexa helped Clarke into the backseat of the car and fastened her seat belt for her.

"Don't worry Clarke, you're safe now. You're going home." She whispered.

She began to loosen her grip on the blonde's hand but Clarke held on with a tight grip. Her sky blue eyes pleading for her to not let go.

"I'm sorry Clarke, but I have to go..."

Lexa slowly brought Clarke's right hand up to her lips and softly kissed the back of her hand.

"May we meet again."

"May we meet again" Clarke answered

Lexa closed the car door and took a few steps back. She watched as the black SUV carrying Clarke drove away. She stood there, completely still taking deep breaths. She didn't move until she could no longer see the car. When it disappeared out of her sight she released a deep sigh and walked back to the hospital to grab the rest of her stuff. The last few days had been exhausting and she longed for the comfort of her own bed. As she approached the doors she is bombarded with flashes and incoherent shouts. They were interrogating her as if she was some sort of Hollywood star, throwing all sorts of questions in her face.

"Was that Clarke Griffin?!"

"Did you play any part in the rescue of the 35 girls in Mount Weather?"

Lexa was momentarily blinded and stunned by all the flashes in her face, but her trained emotionless mask find it's place on her face. She then proceeded to push her way through the swarm of journalists. They followed her for a little while but were stopped by security guards from going any further. Lexa took a deep breath, finally being rid of those obnoxious reporters. She walked back to Clarke's former hospital room and grabbed her stuff from the corner of the room. She glanced one last time at the now empty be, that previously had held the blonde woman that refused to leave Lexa's mind.

Releasing yet another deep sigh she slowly walked out of the hospital room while at the same time taking out her phone from her jacket. Dialing Anya.

"Hello, Woods. How you doin'?"

"I'm exhausted, I just want to take a shower and jump into bed. You know what, I might just jump straight into bed. That's how tired I am. Probably won't even change out of these clothes."

"That's understandable. Well Lexa, did you want something or did you just call for a friendly chat. You've never done the latter so I'm assuming that it's the former. Am I right?"

"Yes, Ahn. You're right. I wonder if you could come and pick me up?"

"Sure, I'll come right away. You're still at the hospital right?"

"Yes."

"Alright I'll be there in 10."

* * *

"...how the fuck do we get over it?"

"Another good question, O. One which I don't have an answer to, yet."

"Raven serio.."

She's cut off by Clarke's hospital room opening. They watch as a blonde haired woman is wheeled out of her room in a wheelchair by a familiar looking brunette and following them are Clarke's parents.

"Oh my god, Clarke. It's Clarke." Raven whispered.

"I can't believe I'm actually seeing what I'm seeing."

"Me neither."

The pair stood still and saw them disappear down the stiff white hospital corridors.

"I'm pretty sure they're driving her home. We won't get anywhere near her this way." Octavia said.

"Well then, what are we waiting for. Let's go!"

Raven and Octavia ran down the hall and won the stairs they just a minute before had ran up. After two floors Octavia stops.

"Why did we take the stairs?"

"Because this way is faster, and also because the elevator is currently occupied by a familiar blonde and it would be pretty fucking awkward to just burst into her elevator, wouldn't it?"

"Oh, yeah."

"Good, now come on."

The brunette's proceeded to run all the lasting 4 floors down to the entrance, past the reception and to their cars.

* * *

Clarke's heart was going a mile a minute. She hasn't been in a car for over ten years, at least not while she was conscious. She was sitting in the backseat, behind her mother. Her father was driving and her mother sat in the passenger seat to his right. Nobody is saying anything, nobody dared to say anything. Her parents were afraid that the slightest noise would set of a panic attack. Clarke felt cold. It had nothing to do with the temperature in the car. But the familiar warmth that she had felt for the last couple of hours was gone.

The scene she found herself in felt familiar, but at the same time it felt completely different. Déjà vu struck her like crazy. This was the seat she usually sat in when they took car rides in when she was little. She liked to sit on the right side of the car because she had her mother in front of her and her father in clear sight. But also because on road trips there was no cars on that side, it was only forests and fields. She used to love long car rides, because she would just gaze at the scenery. Always taking in everything and then creating her little masterpieces, as her father called them. To say that a lot had changed was an understatement. But still she could not help but take in the outside. She had been inside the same building for ten years and had never been outside, not even once.

Even though she knew the people occupying the car with her, it still felt as is they were strangers. She didn't know how to act around them.

As the sights around her became more familiar she sees an old oak tree.

"Look Dad! I'm doing it!" An exited Clarke shouted. As she for the first time rode the bicycle without training wheels.

"I see you kiddo! You're doing so great!"

When Clarke came out of the flashback she heard the sound of their front gate opening. They drove slowly up the driveway all the way up to the house. Their white two-story house. It hadn't changed at all. It was still just the same as it had been before she disappeared. The grass just as short and green. Even her old swing was still there. The swing that she and her father had put there over 10 years ago.

She's overrun by emotions, and tears began to slowly make their way down her cheeks. She couldn't believe it, that after all these years. She was back.


	10. Demons

Clarke watched as her mother opened the door to her old room.

"We always believed that you would find your way back to us, so we didn't want to change anything." Her mother said

Clarke just nodded and took careful steps, eventually she had walked through the threshold into her old room. It was as if she had stepped into a time machine. As her mother had said. Everything was completely unchanged. Everything looked exactly the way she remembered. All the details were hauntingly similar. It looked as if not a single soul had stepped within these four walls for all those years. But she knew that somebody had, because the room looked spotless, it was clean and entirely free of dust. The familiar grey walls and the soft carpet felt comforting. She could see several of her unfinished paintings leaning against the wall on one side of her room. One of the first thoughts that crossed her mind when she laid her eyes upon the paintings was that she could now finally paint and draw with real material. Not just the occasional shitty pen or piece of charcoal she got when she had been a good girl.

Drawing was probably the only thing keeping her sane during all those years, although considering her current predicament she found that statement debatable. Because she didn't feel especially sane at the moment.

Her feet took her further into her old room and a picture on the white desk caught her attention. It was a picture of three young girls. Two of the girls in the picture were brunette's and the one who stood in the middle was blonde. They all had their arms around the others shoulders. All three wore smiles that reached from one ear to the other. The look of pure happiness. It was a picture from their first ever soccer game together, of course they had one it as well. She remembered her father's proud smile after she had scored the first goal of the match.

"That's my girl!"

Clarke picked the photograph up and drew her finger over their faces, as if she could feel the memory when the touched the glass protecting it. Two names broke through the thick fog that was her brain, Raven and Octavia. Raven and Octavia, her best friends. Did they even remember her? Probably not, there wasn't much to remember anyway. She knew that she used to be a happy child, that was a fact her brain refused to let go off. She didn't use to have all of this pain. But she had drastically changed, she was no longer happy, no longer an innocent and naive. She was without a doubt damaged beyond repair. She was useless, she had been gone for 10 years and the rational part of her brain registered that she had missed 10 years of school, 10 years of crucial education and the other part of her brain remembered that she had missed 10 years of living. She'll never get those years back.

She was broken.

A steady stream of tears flowed down her cheek, she didn't care to wipe them away. Clarke just let them flow. Silently hoping that the pain would follow them, but she knew, it wasn't that easy. It never was.

* * *

An hour after the Chancellor, her husband and their childhood best friend had arrived at the Griffin's household, Raven and Octavia arrived. Raven had picked Octavia up after Octavia had left her car at her apartment. Then they had done a quick stop at Grounders to buy some burgers, because neither of them had eaten anything for hours, and their bellies was beginning to revolt over not being fed. They also thought that they should let Clarke have some time to get settled back home before they barged into her life once more.

The gate was closed, no shocker. Raven pushed the familiar numbers in and the gate let out a quiet beep before slowly opening.

The Griffins were like a second family to both Raven and Octavia. They had been close before Clarke's disappearance, but they had gotten even closer after. Maybe they found solace in each other. The Chancellor and her husband were used to Raven and Octavia coming to their house at all hours. They didn't usually hang out that much, Abby usually offered to cook them some dinner when they were there and they would eat it together. But other than that they didn't spend that much time together, just being happy that they were close by. Raven and Octavia always walked up to the blonde's room, sitting in her bed watching movie after movie. It was both comforting and heartbreaking to be in Clarke's room. It was heartbreaking because of the obvious reasons. Clarke was gone, it was an inevitable fact.

But it was comforting because they somehow felt closer to the blonde being where they were. Sometimes they pretended that Clarke would walk through that door any moment after yet another bathroom break. Seriously, who needs to go to the bathroom three times during a 2 hour movie? But pretending always came with a hollow feeling in their chests. Because in reality Clarke was not going to be stepping through that door and reality sucked.

As they slowly rolled up the driveway they noticed that a few things were different. People liked the Griffins and they didn't usually have any sort of guards outside, unless there was some big event or something. They usually only had a few monitored cameras there and there. But now there was 4 massive guys stationed outside their front door.

"Why are there 4 huge dudes standing outside the door?"

"Well, why do you think, O?"

"Oh, right. Sorry."

"I love you, O. But sometimes you really are dense."

"Yeah, yeah. Shut it Reyes."

They watched as the men outside the front door got tenser the closer they came. Raven stopped and parked the car a bit farther away than she normally did when she visited the Griffins. Raven gave a quick glance towards the other person occupying the car, after a synchronized nod they opened the car and stepped outside at the same time.

"Hello gentlemen. Name's Raven Reyes and this is Octavia Blake. We're old friends of the Griffin's."

The biggest one of them all, a muscular redhead took a few threatening steps towards then. Raven, however, stood tall.

"Sorry ma'am, but no one is permitted inside the house today." Raven let out a loud snort at his reply.

"Alright, first of all, I'm not nearly old enough to be called ma'am, and second of all... Alright, there is no second of all but seriously, if you could just call the Chancellor or her husband out so that they could tell you that we are welcomed here at all hours."

The huge redhead looked at Raven suspiciously for a moment, but after a few seconds of intense scrutiny, he spoke into the radio situated on the left side of his chest. Just a few moments later the Chancellor herself stepped through the doors. Raven could only describe the look on her face as a mix of surprise and "of course they are here."

"It's okay, Josh. They can come in."

The redheaded guard nodded towards the Chancellor and walked back to his post. Both Raven and Octavia followed Abby into the house.

"I'm guessing you heard about Clarke."

"Yes, we saw the news and we just had to see for ourselves." Answered Octavia.

"She's in her room right now, Jake's with her. She... She's different. I know that you can't just come back after 10 years and not have changed. Especially not after where she has been. But it's disconcerting non the less. She is easily frightened and she barely speaks. She has not said a single word since we left the hospital. She barely said a word there."

"Can we see her." Asked Octavia, Raven was standing right next to her. Silent for the first time in her life.

"Yes, just... Be careful, we don't really know what sets her off just yet. But fast movements and loud noises seems to be the major causes."

"Okay, we'll be careful."

They walked up the stairs together and as they got closer to their destination they got more and more nervous. When they finally stood outside of Clarke's room they looked inside and saw a blonde, fragile looking figure sitting on the bed. She had her back turned towards them and she was holding the photograph of them from when they were kids in her hands. The blonde could sense the presence of someone other than her father in the room with her and turned around. She laid her eyes upon another set of faces she never thought she'd ever see again. She cautiously and slowly stood up from her spot on the bed. Without looking she gently let the photograph fall to the bed.

The trio was completely frozen, neither of them believing what they were actually seeing. Both Raven and Octavia took one cautious step forward.

"Hello, Clarkey." It came out as a hoarse whisper from Octavia. But no one cared.

"Hello, princess."

Raven immediately knew that she had said the wrong thing because Clarke got a hollow and far away look in her eyes. Tears flooded in her beautiful baby blues.

"Alright, let's see how well you remember your lessons. Tell me girl, what is your name?"

"I have no name."

"Then who are you?"

"I am whoever you want me to be."

"Good girl. I'm going to call you Princess. Now who are you?"

"I am Princess."

The memory progressed and Clarke fell down on her knees, her father tried to keep her from falling but his movements only caused Clarke to become more and more agitated.

A hard punch landed in her stomach. She doubled over in pain, and fell to the floor.

"You will obey me Princess." A leg smacked into the back of her head.

"ANSWER ME." The leg once again found it's place in the back of her head, her head was throbbing in pain and she had trouble coming up with a single coherent thought. Luckily she was able to form the words she so desperately had to.

"Yes, Master. I will obey you."

A hand grasped harshly around one of her breasts and pulled hard. She gave out a sharp yelp.

"You do well to remember that Princess, or you won't like the consequences, you do remember what happened to that slut Allison? I'm sure you don't want that to happen to you."

Clarke was laying curled up on the floor screaming at the top of her lungs as if physical pain, holding the back of her head with her hands in a protective gesture.

Nothing they did had any effect on her, everything they did only seemed to make her even more agitated. As her screams got louder. Abby pulled out her phone.

"Kane, I need you to get Special Agent Alexandria Woods on the phone NOW!" She shouted into the phone. Desperately trying to convey the gravity of the situation and the importance of her request.

"Right away Abby." He didn't ask any questions, he just forwarded her to the agent in question's phone.

* * *

Lexa had just stepped outside the shower when her phone rang. Exhaling a loud and long sigh she walked over to her bedside table and answered the call.

"Lexa Woods speaking,"

"Miss Woods, this is Chancellor Abigail Griffin speaking. I need you to come over to my house right away, my daughter is having a major panic attack and nothing we've tried is working. You're the only one who has been able to reach her."

'Clarke, Clarke was hurting' Lexa thought.

"Yes, ma'am. I am on my way."

She quickly hung up the phone, ignoring the fact that she had just hung up the phone on the Chancellor. The only thing that mattered was that Clarke was in pain. She quickly discarded her towel and threw on a pair of worn out jeans and a black T-shirt. Lexa ignored her wet hair as she burst out the door of her apartment and into her car. She put the keys in the ignition and quickly drove off. Going well above the speed limit she reached the house within 15 minutes.

She parked behind a red range rover look alike and ran to the front door. The men posted outside had been informed of her arrival by the Chancellor, one of them, the redhead said:

"Upstairs, third door to the right." She answered him with a quick nod.

As she walked through the front door she heard the desperate screams of the blonde. Lexa sprinted up the stairs and down the hall to where Clarke was. What she saw tore at her heart. Clarke was laying on the floor, clutching her head as she screamed at the top of her lungs and let out devastated cries. She was lost in her own mind. Promptly ignoring the other people in the room she walked straight to the woman laying on the floor. Lexa sat down on her knees taking the distraught Clarke into her arms. Holding onto her so that Clarke's head rested on her shoulder.

"Shh... Clarke. It's me. You're safe. Shh..."

But Clarke was so far gone that she barely noticed that the brunette was there. So she did as she had done before. Started singing.

Our love was strong as a lion

Soft as the cotton you lie in

Times we got hot like an iron

You and I

Our hearts had never been broken

We were so innocent darling

We used to talk 'til the morning

You and I

As her voice reached the blonde's ears, Clarke sank into her embrace, and the screaming abruptly stopped.

You were my September song, tell me where have you gone?

Do you remember me, we were only fifteen

And I, I remember the chorus, they were singing it for us

You were my September song, tell me where have you gone?

She felt the blonde in her arms slowly come back to reality, her arms were no longer slack in her lap, now they reached around her and held on tight. Clarke nuzzled into her neck, trying to take deep breaths.

And I, I remember the chorus, they were singing it for us

You were my September Song

I remember the chorus, they were singing it for us

Lexa drew comforting circles on Clarke's back, pressing a comforting kiss on the top of her head.

"It's okay Clarke, I'm right here. You're safe. I'm right here."

"Please don't leave me." Clarke croaked into her neck.

"Never, Clarke. Never."


	11. Unfinished

Lexa woke up slowly. For a moment she didn't remember where she was. With a groan she tried to stretch all of her limbs, however her left arm was stuck. Lexa's brows narrowed. 'What the hell' she thought. Only then did she sense unfamiliar the heat coming from another body. A body that laid in front of her and with it's back practically glued against her front.

Lexa slowly opened her eyes, blinking rapidly to before getting used to the brightness of the room. She was spooning a blonde girl in front of her, holding the blonde tightly against herself as if to protect her from the outside world. _Clarke._ She didn't really remember how they got into their current predicament, but she thought that they must have migrated to the bed sometime while she was comforting Clarke.

The brunette looked around the room, and remembered that the other people who once occupied the room with them had disappeared when Lexa had come in, to give the two girls some privacy.

The blonde let out a deep sigh in front of her. One of her hands coming up to meet one of Lexa's, the one who was gently placed on her stomach, and grasped it gently. Wiggling herself impossibly closer to the brunette spooning her. Lexa reveled in the feeling of Clarke against her like this, she could feel her own heart doing back flips in her chest. Looking down at the blonde in front of her, she looked so peaceful in her sleep. Lexa almost forgot what had happened to her. It was as if those ten years never existed. Like she had no worries what so ever.

Sadly that was not the case.

Feeling like her bladder was about to burst, Lexa reluctantly rose from the warm and comfortable bed she had shared with Clarke. But before she could step out of the room in search of a bathroom something by the window catched her eye. A large canvas was situated next to the window facing the backyard. It depicted several people falling from the sky with a mountain range in the background. But what really distracted her from her task was the girl in the middle of the painting. She was falling headfirst towards the ground, it's an image that she only could imagine to be absolutely terrifying. However this girl, she looked completely at peace. Lexa was unable to see her face because her hair was in the way.

Lexa could tell that the painting wasn't quite finished, some details were clearly missing on a few places and some of the details were yet to be as refined as others. 'Did Clarke really pain this?' Thought Lexa. Was it really possible for a twelve year old girl to paint this good. It looked real. Almost like a photograph.

"I started painting this a few weeks before I was kidnapped."

Lexa startled and quickly turned around to face the sound where she saw Clarke rising to sit up in her bed.

"I never got to finish it because... Well you know."

"Maybe you could do it now." Lexa answered, still in awe over the painting. "What does it mean?"

"I'm not quite sure actually. My father and I had this story in our heads. That the world had been destroyed in a nuclear apocalypse but a fraction of humanity was still alive and had managed to survive because they had escaped up to space. After 97 years in space, don't ask why 97 years specifically because I actually have no idea why we chose that, a hundred young criminals were sent down to Earth to see if it was survivable again. Only to find out that they were not the only survivors." The blonde broke eye contact for a short moment before continuing.

"I remember that I got this image in my head once in a dream. I dreamed of falling, kinda like that. So I decided to put it on a canvas.

"It's extraordinary."

"Thank you. Were you about to leave before...?"

"Before I was distracted by your painting?" Receiving a nod from the blonde on the bed. "No, I was just heading towards the bathroom. Which, now that I think about it, I have no idea where it's located." A small smile reaching her lips.

"It should be one door to the left, right next to my room."

"Thank you, Clarke." Clarke flinched slightly at the use of her name, it was barely noticeable but Lexa saw it. "I'll be right back.

Clarke looked slightly unsure if that statement was true, but she nodded and Lexa walked out the door in search of the bathroom.

* * *

"Do you think it's possible for me to feel somewhat normal ever again?"

"You are normal, Clarke." At that Clarke let out a loud snort. Not believing it for a second. She didn't flinch this time, Lexa noticed.

"We both know that's not true." Said the blonde.

"Is it not? Do you know what I see, Clarke?" Clarke slowly shook her head.

"I see a young beautiful girl, with a huge talent. I even heard that you have several talents, a musical prodigy and the new Picasso." Clarke chuckled slightly at that. Lexa continued speaking. " To me, you are a normal girl with her whole life ahead of her. You see, your mind is a powerful thing, Clarke. When you fill it with positive thoughts your life will start to change."

"You think I'm beautiful?" The blonde asked with a small, slightly shy, smirk.

"Really? That's what you got out of all that? But yes, Clarke. I think you are magnificent."

"Thank you, you're not to bad looking yourself."

"Why, thank you." Lexa gave Clarke a wide smile in appreciation. "Alright, Clarke. I want to ask you a very serious question and I really want a serious answer. Could you give that to me?"

Clarke looked slightly worried but nodded her consent.

"Okay."

Lexa looked the blonde in the eyes. Waiting for a few seconds before asking the question.

"Who... Is your favorite teletubby?"

Clarke burst out laughing.

"My what?!"

"Your favorite teletubby, seriously Clarke this is an important question." Lexa said in an humorous voice. Giving Clarke a wide smile.

"I don't know, I guess the blue one."

"You mean the purple one?".

"What, no the blue one."

"There is no blue teletubby."

"Yes, there is."

"No, Clarke. Only red, yellow, green and purple exists. If you want a blue one so badly you'll have to create your own.

"Well then, I guess I pick the purple one as my favorite then."

"Tinky Winky."

"You actually know their names?"

"No..." But Clarke just gave her an unconvinced look and raised one eyebrow, and Lexa caved.

"Fine, yes I know their names. But only because when I babysit my cousin's kid she only wants to watch teletubbies, and I mean, you can only watch so many episodes of that before you go crazy."

Clarke laughed out loud and Lexa smiled widely at that. She loved hearing the blonde's laugh, it was such a rare thing and she treasured it immensely.

Lexa opened her mouth to say something else, but it was lost on her tongue when the door to Clarke's bedroom opened and Abby stood in the doorway.

"Miss Woods. Could I talk to you for a moment please?".

"Of course, ma'am. I'll be right out." Looking back at Clarke. "I'll be back before you know it okay? Don't worry" The blonde nodded in affirmation. Lexa gave Clarke's hand a gentle squeeze before standing up from the bed and following Abby out the door.

"What can I do for you Chancellor Griffin?"

"Just Abby, please."

"Alright, Abby."

"I have a proposition for you."

"Okay?"

"I want you to become Clarke's 24 hour body guard.


	12. A Fresh Start

**7:30 PM Yesterday Evening**

"Hello Marcus." Said Abby to her old friend.

"Hello Abby. What can I do for you this evening?"

"I need to ask you a favour."

"Alright, I'm listening."

"You have an agent called Alexandria Woods working for you, she's the one who found Clarke."

"Yes, Agent Woods is one of our most promising young agents. What about her?"

"As you know my daughter has gone through something horribly traumatic, and she's easily frightened. Nothing we have tried has worked when it comes to calming her down."

"That is indeed very tragic Abby. But I fail to see how this has anything to with my agent?"

"Well that's the thing Marcus. The first time Clarke had a panic attack she was there, in the background. She was able to calm her down in just a few minutes and the second time was in our house. Clarke had been in her old room and she seemed fine one minute, but when some of her old friends visited she freaked. And same thing as before, she was unreachable. So as you know, I called Agent Woods and got her to come over. She had calmed down Clarke again within just a few minutes. They seem to share some sort of connection. I don't know but... But she seems to be the only one who can get to Clarke when she gets like that."

"Okay. So what are you suggesting, Abby?"

"I want Agent Woods to become Clarke's 24 hour bodyguard."

"Abby, that's not in her job description... But I guess that it could be made possible for the Chancellor. However you'll have to get her permission because I can't force her to do this, because as I said, it's not in her job description."

"Thank you for this Marcus. Thank you so much." Abby breathed out a loud and relieved sigh.

"Everything for that kid of yours, Clarke deserves the best. I really hope she gets better. See you around Abby."

"Bye, Marcus."

* * *

 _"I want you to become Clarke's 24 hour body guard._

 **Present Day**

"You want me to what?" Lexa was shocked, her mouth opening and closing as a fish out of water. She had not in a million years expected _that_ to come out of the Chancellor's mouth.

"I want you to be around Clarke at all hours of the day an night to protect her from others. But also to protect her from herself. I've seen the connection the two of you share. You are the only one who is able to bring her back when she's having a panic attack."

"Bu... I.. I don't know if I can... I mean I have a job."

"I have already taken care of that, I spoke to Chief Kane over the phone yesterday evening and he agreed to it, as long as you agreed to it as well. I understand if you don't wa..." She was interrupted by Lexa before she finished.

"I'll do it."

"Thank you Agent Woods."

"On one condition." Abby looked as if she wanted to argue but stopped herself.

"Alright, I'm listening."

"She lives with me, in my apartment." Abby was about to interrupt but Lexa spoke before she could.

"Wait, let me explain. I know that you just got your daughter back and you don't want to let her out of your sight, but think about it. She just got back from being gone for _ten_ year. _Ten_ years of experiences and unforgettable moments to tell the grandkids, that she never got to have. Being in this that she grew up in, is just going to remind her of what she's lost. What she never got to have. That's why I think that the best thing for Clarke is to get away. To start over with a clean slate. Make new memories. Not to try to make up for all the years she has lost. Because sadly, she won't. She'll never get them back. No matter how hard she tries. I think that a fresh start is what she needs and changing scenery is a part of that."

"Okay, Agent Woods. I suppose you're right. I'll make the necessary arrangements. You and Clarke can leave whenever you want to, just tell us when you go. Could you tell Clarke to write down what she would want us to bring her later this evening?" Lexa nodded.

"I'll make sure to tell Clarke."

With that she gave the Chancellor one last nod and headed back up to Clarke's room. As she opened the door she noticed that Clarke sat in the same place as she had done when Lexa left. A relieved expression came over her face, and her shoulders noticeably relaxed.

"Hello again, Clarke." Lexa's eyebrows narrowed as she noticed the small flinch from the blonde. But didn't comment on it.

"I have some interesting news for you. You're going to come and live with me in my apartment. If that's okay with you of course."

Clarke looked momentarily confused but then her eyes widened as she fully comprehended what Lexa had said. A wide smile broke out and she nodded excitedly.

"You sure? Would you be able to handle my presence around the clock?" Lexa said with a small smirk.

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Well alright then, Clarke." _'No flinch this time'_ " I guess we are going to be roommates. Prepare for endless movie nights and ice cream. I really like ice cream, which flavour is your favourite?"

"I always loved vanilla." The blonde answered.

"Yeah? Me too, however my favourite has to be either chocolate or pear." Lexa caught herself. "Okay, we're getting of topic here. I planned on heading back to my apartment in like an hour or so and I though that I could bring you with me. Sounds good?" Clarke nodded.

"Alright then, we should pack you some small things right now that we'll bring with us immediately and also, you should write a list of the bigger things you would like your mother and father to bring us later tonight, like canvases.

She would be lying if she said that she wasn't excited over the fact that Clarke would be staying with her. Never before had she felt such a strong, intense and instant connection to a person. Not even Costia. But she didn't want to thing of her now, that woman didn't deserve a single second of her thoughts anymore. Not after what she did.

After a few minutes of packing, Clarke had everything she needed for the moment.

"All set?" And Clarke nodded in affirmation.

"Well alright then, let's go."

Lexa gave Clarke a small 'lead the way' gesture with her her. She followed Clarke out the door and without thinking she put her hand on the small of Clarke's back. She was about to retract her hand when she noticed that Clarke hadn't even flinched at the action. So she let it lay there as a comforting pressure on the blonde's back. They walked like this all the way to the front door where Abby and Jake stood talking.

"Alright Abby, Jake. We'll be heading off now. The note with all of the things Clarke wanted you to bring is on her bed. I'll text you my address when we've arrived."

The Chancellor nodded and moved to give her daughter a hug. However Clarke quickly moved out of her reach with a startled look upon her face. Abby looked slightly hurt at the action but gave Lexa and Clarke a reassuring smile.

"Goodbye, Clarke."

"Goodbye, Kiddo."

"Bye, Mom. Bye, Dad."

The ride over to Lexa's apartment was quiet, but not uncomfortably so. Lexa had turned on the radio and listened as the blonde next to her softly hummed along. A small smile graced Lexa's lips. They were content in just sitting there together listening to the radio.

* * *

"Welcome to my humble abode. I didn't have time to clean it before I left, so you'll have to deal with my filth." Lexa cheerfully said as she opened the door and let Clarke into her apartment.

"It doesn't look that bad to me. A few shirts strewn over the place is nothing compared to twelve year old me."

"Did you have corridors in your bedroom."

Clarke laughed.

"Yes, yes I did. I used to drive Mom crazy with how unkempt and messy my room was."

Lexa noticed a faraway look taking place in Clarke's eyes.

"Hey, Clarke. You can put your stuff in the guest room, which I guess will be your bedroom now.

Clarke snapped back to reality when Lexa spoke and nodded solemnly. Lexa gave her a sweet smile, trying to get the blonde on happier thoughts. Lexa showed Clarke the way to her new bedroom and then walked out to collect the last few items from the car.

Lexa was seated in the couch waiting for Clarke to come out of her room.

"Hey Clarke, you want to watch a movie?"

Clarke stepped out of the room and walked to stand right behind Lexa on the couch.

"Which one?"

"You choose. I have Netflix so there's countless to choose from."

"What's Netflix?"

Lexa paused for a moment, cursing herself for not thinking about the fact that Clarke did most likely, didn't know what that was.

"It's a site on the internet where you can stream movies, TV series, documentaries and much more. It's great. So... What do you want to watch?"

"The Lion King." Clarke said in a heartbeat.

"Hakuna Matada it is."

Clarke smiled and sat down on the couch next to Lexa. Their legs brushing up against each other. Lexa's skin felt as if on fire. The touch of Clarke was electric and addictive. Unconsciously she moved closer and Clarke didn't mind it one bit.


	13. AUTHOR'S NOTE 3-4 week Hiatus

Because of some shitty things going on in my life at the moment and because I have a lot of big assignments in school coming up (stressing me out) I have totally lost my inspiration. But fear not people! I'm not abandoning this fic.

I'm merely taking a break until this cools down. 3-4 weeks and then I'll be back to continue this story. And as a treat to you all who read and will read when I come back I will post a chapter that is significantly larger than my normal ones.

Thank you all for the kudos and comments it makes me so incredibly happy!

I hope you can wait for this to blow over and for me to get back. _Ai hod yu in_

Love, Z


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